Emergency Military Aid Needed for Palestinians

Due to severe budgetary issues within the Palestinian Authority, some of the PA military forces have been forced to perform weapons training using...using only their bare hands.

The lack of enough weapons has forced the PA to train with the classic (but unconventional) index finger and thumb imaginary gun. Soldiers are therefore missing out on important training which involves actually holding a weapon.

You can't expect them to go out and defend Gaza while they shout, "bang bang"...

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Routine Blood Libel “thuggery” @ HaAretz (Blame the Settlers at all Costs)

On Sunday morning, the eviction of Hevron's Jews from the Beit Shapira house was broadcast on TV. My 3 year old saw black shirted and helmeted policeman surrounding the building, pointed to the TV and said, "Look Abba, Amona...Amona..."

The HaAretz newspaper’s lead editorial yesterday was about the Jews in Hevron and their “thuggery.” HaAretz states as fact that Jews infiltratated the al-Nazar house in the center of Hebron and provided a “fraudulent rental agreement that said they had rented the house legally from its owner.”

HaAretz’s unbridled passion to defame settlers at all costs led them to slightly misrepresent the facts. And that’s why the Hevron Jewish community is demanding an apology from HaAretz and 1 million NIS in compensation for false reporting and intentional slander.

The Israeli High Court of Justice did not rule on the authenticity of the rental agreement. In fact, they stated that the correct place to determine the documentation authenticity is in civil court. Yet, HaAretz has no problem declaring that the settlers are thugs for (allegdly) infiltrating and illegally occupying an Arab home in Hevron and for providing a fraudulent rental agreement.

Anyone semi familiar with Hevron’s community or the ELAD community knows perfectly well that these communities raise tremendous funds specifically to legally and properly purchase land and buildings. They aren’t stupid -- they know perfectly well that they would be evicted for trying to use a fraudulent rental agreement. And why should they try to use false documentation? They raise funds specifically to purchase these buildings!

Here's an interesting example of one of the previous buildings purchased by the Hevron community:

Last March, just over a year ago, Hebron's Jewish community completed acquisition of a large house in the Tel-Rumeida – Admot Ishai neighborhood. The building, adjacent to a recently completed apartment complex and the neighborhood's caravan homes, was something of a coup. It is extremely difficult to obtain buildings from Arabs anywhere, but especially in Hebron. Arabs selling property to Jews are summarily executed. Of course, first they are tortured. So it was only a few weeks ago when Muhammad Abu al-Hawa, a 48 year old Arab, was found tortured and killed for having sold Jews property on the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem.

See Timesonline article here.

Upon moving into the building, security forces arrived, demanding 'proof of purchase.' All the necessary documents were turned over to the police, army and 'civil administration' in charge of Yesha. Everything was legal, and we were quite sure that everything would work out.

The director of the civil administration... met with his senior staff and told them, "you have to get them out of that building!"

One of those present, an expert on such affairs, responded, "We can't. I've gone through all the documents. They crossed all the 'tees' and dotted all the 'iis'. It's all legal."

His boss answered, "I don't care, Find a way to get them out."

Over course the Arab owner of the building claimed that the documentation was all forged and that he had never sold the property. These claims, for a good reason. Arabs who sell to Jews are murdered.

It didn't take long to dismantle his story....

...and the land transaction was deemed legal and valid.

In response to the current house in question (Beit Shapira) Hevron’s community issued the following points:

1. The Jewish presence in the building is legal.
All necessary legal documentation is available and held by the claimants. Tremendous amounts of money were invested in the building, and the decision to expel us, based upon empty, false complaints of the previous owners, comprises thievery and improper utilization of authority by powers that be.

2. We accuse the previous Arab owner of false claims.
The fact that the previous owner denies the transaction is a normal and frequent occurrence. This, due to the fact that their lives are endangered. Such a denial is accompanied by a complaint issued with the police. The police investigation should then take place in accordance with this fact, which is well known to them, and they should not reach hasty conclusions.

3. We accuse the investigators of a tendentious investigation and improper use of their authority.
The police and the civil administration hastened to draw conclusions, without any factual basis for their conclusions, while refraining from any objective, professional investigation of the facts. Despite the fact that they were not able to ascertain that the documentation was forged, as claimed by the previous owner and did not conduct any kind of true investigation of the facts, the police reached one-sided conclusions.

We are one hundred percent convinced that, given the opportunity to present the facts and documentation in an authorized court of law, the undisputed conclusion will be reached that the property is legally held by the Jewish community of Hebron. We therefore are requesting that the Supreme court prevent the proposed expulsion and transfer the case to the proper court of law.

...it must be stressed that the question at hand is not legal, rather it is strictly political. The decision to expel us from the building was taken by outgoing Defense Minister Shaul Mufaz and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert immediately following our entrance into the building, prior to any examination of the legal documents or claims. The police then began a one-sided investigation before any claims or complaints were filed by the previous owner.

You may disagree with Jews living in the West Bank, or even in Hevron. But for the Israeli government to abuse the law, and force people out of their homes...and for HaAretz to misrepresent the facts just to malign the settlers...is just plain wrong.


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Israel DaFence Forces

"New" and "Improved" Security Fence Route... (from the new website)

Environmental considerations
Minimal damage to the landscape and its vegetation as well as restoring the area, once work has been completed to its former stage, as much as possible.

Designed in modern-era, post-millenium concrete, the wall blends in beautifully with the local scenery.



Avoidance
Every effort has been made, to avoid including any Palestinian villages in the area of the Security Fence. The Security Fence does not annex territories to the State of Israel, nor will it change the status of the residents of these areas.

And very little effort was made to include Jewish villages. Actually, there was a half hearted effort, which was speedily halted by Israel's Supreme Court. (The same court which is currently deciding whether it's legal for the IDF to shell Gaza. Apparently, some people think that's also illegal).

Minimum Disruption
Minimum disruption to the daily life of the populations residing on both sides of the Security Fence will occur along its course in several forms:

Narrow agricultural passageways, dozens of which will be located along the route to enable farmers to continue cultivating their lands.

Passage for pedestrians and vehicles, at which inspections will take place to maintain security.

Crossing points, for transfer of goods across the central area and in the Jerusalem region.

Try getting into Jerusalem lately? From Gush Etzion's tunnel road? Binyamin/Shomron on highway 60 via Hizma/Pisgat Zeev? On the Modiin/Jerusalem Highway via 443/Begin road or 443/Ramot? The disruption to daily life is rediculous.


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

The Darker Side of the JBlogosphere

For the most part I enjoy blogging and the JBlogosphere. Granted, there are days when it's a bit obsessive, when I have nothing decent to write, when I deliver an important message to the world and only get 3 comments -- and they're from spammers.

It can be a fun place to read what's going on around the world, read faith-challenging posts, sharpen my own beliefs, and experience a microcosm of the entire Jewish world.

The blog world gives people a chance to counter balance MSM which won't always report your point of view.

And then, there's the darker side.

Serious evil.

At least two J-bloggers were forced to shut down their blogs last week.

Over the past month, other bloggers I know were subject to intimidation and sinister threats of being "outted"...or worse. That behaviour is unethical, borderline-criminal, and against halacha.

Gil Student states his halachic understanding of blog anonymity, and why revealing a person's anonymity is tantamount to revealing a secret (which is halachically forbidden)

Steven Weiss has an interesting post about why anonymous blogging actually harms credible debate.

Could be.

But the cases I'm referring to were much more sinister than a simple "outting" and the intent was harmful, spiteful and evil.

While the vast majority of J-Bloggers try to adhere to the laws of Lashon Hara, the blog world is based on the pillars of freedom of speech and expression.

Don't like something?

Comment on it.

Still don't like it?

Blog about it yourself why it irks you.

Still don't like it?
STAY AWAY.

Don't surf to the blog that offends you. Turn your computer off. Go take a cold shower.

And to the bloggers that were shut down -- you can post at the Muqata if you wish.

Eretz Yisrael. Living the Dream.

More on Jerusalem vs. US State Dept.

Following up on my previous posting about registering American's born in Jerusalem, ISRAEL, apparently we'll have our day in court. And since it's an American court, there may be a chance for justice.

Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky of Jerusalem, just 3 years old, emerged victorious last week in his battle with the U.S. administration - a small and perhaps temporary victory, but sweet nevertheless. The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld his arguments and decided to send his case back to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, so that "both sides may develop a more complete record relating to these and other subjects of dispute." The two parties are the child (and his parents, Ari and Naomi) and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Read the rest of it here.

Zivitofsky Family: Give 'em hell!

hat-tip: Shtender

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Sovereign US Soil...in Israel.

There comes a time in the life of almost every oleh from the US, when you have to visit the US embassy in Tel-Aviv. Despite a US congressional resolution, the embassy is still in Tel-Aviv and not in Israel's capital, Jerusalem.

The US State Department doesn't want to offend the Arab countries by admitting Jerusalem is Israel's capital, and they routinely drag their feet on moving the embassy to Jerusalem.

Perhaps even more annoying is that any person applying for a US passport who was born in Jerusalem will not have "Israel" listed under city/country of birth on their US passport.

Just "Jerusalem"...

no Israel, no nothing

...as if everyone knows in what country Jerusalem is...

Since the "Muqata" blog gets daily hits from the US State Department, (what are they thinking??) I thought it would be useful for all to hear about my trip to the US embassy to renew passports for the kids and get a "Consular Report of Birth of US Citizen Born Abroad" for our youngest.

Of course, we could (and should) go to the US Consulate in "Eastern" Jerusalem, but its not a fun place to drag a gaggle of kids, and they aren't that nice there either. Officially, any resident of the West Bank needs to go to the Consulate in Jerusalem for citizen services, but we manage to go to Tel Aviv instead -- its closer, nicer, and despite the craziness, the embassy workers are (for the most part) nicer people.

Plus - at the Jerusalem consulate, any document than needs to be photocopied costs $1 per copy and we would have had to pay at least $25 for the amount of copies we needed on Friday (at the embassy, its free.) Consular Reports, Marriage Certificate, previous passports, you name it -- it had to be photocopied.

We knew it was going to be a crazy day when we walked down the narrow corridor to the US Citizen Services room and a woman was coming towards us in the opposite direction. We didn't know her, but she took one look at the Muqata family and gave us the dire message: "You have never seen it as crazy as it is today..." A few steps more and we saw it. The room was jammed pack. Every seat was taken, the number counter was at 121 and we quickly grabbed a number...lucky us, 198.

So the Mrs. takes one look at the crowd and wonders if it's really worth it to renew passports...

The room is filled with a mix of American Israelis...some tourists...and the numbers progress at a snail's pace. I start filling in the paperwork for the passport renewals. More paperwork, more forms, check the social security numbers...

Announcement: "Ladies and Gentleman: There is a US federal law called the "Privacy Act" which requires that the people at the customer service windows be entitled to their privacy. We will shut down all customer service transactions till the area near the windows is clear."

A minute goes by...."We will not continue to serve ANYONE till the area is clear"

Don't they know they are dealing with Jews...and Israelis?

Two minutes go by and the windows resume service.

The counter beeps...

Number 126.

Ack.

Even Israel's Misrad Hapnim is better than this...it used to be worse, but has now far surpassed America in terms of professional and quick service.

And then...I make a critical decision...I decide to go to window #5 to ask a question.

Everyone is entitled to go to window #5, uncalled, to ask a question -- and I decided to ask them an unrelated question to the paperwork I was filling out, yet connected to my own unique super secret passport situation (which cannot be elaborated here).

Announcement: If you need to ask a question, you can go to window #5. If you are here for social security or federal benefits, its too late. Their window closed at 11 AM. Have a nice day!

The assistant consul was perplexed by my question and needed to think about it for a few minutes...after all...when a guy named Jameel asks a question, you can't simply brush him off.

And then I saw it!

Crumpled up on the side of the window...hidden from view from all but the most curious of people, was a small slip of paper. Carefully picking it up I realized what it was...

More valuable than a golden lottery ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory!

More dear than a ticket to a front row seat at a Bruce Springsteen concert.

It was...

Number 164!

Being the good settler-citizen than I try to be, I announced to everyone around me, "Did anyone lose their number, does everyone have their number?"

Apparently, someone took a number before they realized that window #5 doesn't NEED a number - you can just show up -- and left it there...

I rushed back to the Mrs. and showed her my treasure -- and the bidding started -- who would get OUR number of 198 (or the 175 my son found).

We could have sold it on ebay for a fortune. As we were gave our "old" number to the people next us, number 164 was called! Our lucky day! Rushing forward with the number, we presented our paperwork...and spent the next thirty minutes dealing with a very polite embassy worker.

The people at the window to the right of me had a big problem; they didn't have all the necessary documentation. They were very annoyed and started yelling and cursing the poor embassy worker. I was embarrassed that my kids even witnessed such a poor display of manners.

I seriously urge anyone going to the US embassy to read every single single bit of information on the US Embassy in Tel-Aviv website. (Heck, maybe if I give them a link, they'll give me one as well?)

For example:

• Citizen Services are closed the last Friday of every month.
• If you want to register your child as an American born in Israel, you need to provide a LOT of proof that you are an American citizen who lived in the US for 10 years before you were 18. That means...report cards from elementary school, library cards, diplomas...all sorts of stuff you never imagined needing once you finished college...
• Bring with you every document known to mankind...birth certificates, marriage license, change of name forms, social security cards...better you bring it and don't need it, than wait on line for hours, only to find out you forgot something.

In any event - we thanked the vice consul, told them what a great job they were doing...and after 3 hours and $575 poorer...we were done.

Oh yeah...Israeli passports only cost 75 NIS...heck of a lot cheaper.

Eretz Yisrael. Living the Dream!

Israel, The Start-Up.

(A Belated Yom Ha'Atzmaut posting)

High-tech start-up companies can be a great place to work. There's a youthful energy vibrating throughout the building that keeps the company on a "high".

Besides the fun and satisfaction of working for a common goal, on (hopefully) a cool product with a team of bright, creative and exciting people, there's also the dream in the background. The options payout...the dream that owning shares of a company that goes big on NASDAQ...will allow for early retirement, a dream house, a higher living standard...or maybe the ability to barely cover tuition payments for kids in yeshiva elementary schools in the USA. (OK, some dreams aren't very realistic at all).

Along with the fun and excitement comes the stress. The state of not knowing if everything will work out. Will the company last more than it's first or second round of seed funding? How will we deliver the first version of the product if we're late on design and production? There are infinite defects and problems, customer support doesn't exist yet, standards and good operating procedures get thrown by the wayside in the hope of getting the product out the door, and we'll worry about all of that when we have time.

Meet the State of Israel - its very much like a start-up company.

Yet, we've got so much going for us!

We have an amazing product which captivated the world -- the land of Biblical Israel, the ingathering of Jews from around the world, the rebirth of Hebrew, and the rebuilding of the Jewish people after the Holocaust.

Yet, our management doesn't know exactly which direction to lead the company. Every 2-3 years, the shareholders throw out the previous management/Board of Directors, in hopes that new management will get us back on the right track.

We even have competition for the same product and they often use ruthless, murderous tactics to take over our market share (or at least, the product.)

Still, we have a very loyal customer base that supports us, despite all the start-up woes of a (sometimes) rude or inefficient customer service...or the lack of following standard operating procedure ("Don't worry so much...everything will work out fine...") Budgeting for projects doesn't always make sense, "You haven't seen my overdraft, have you?"

Company direction is often fuzzy and unclear, "Netzarim has the same rule as Tel-Aviv"..."Not one Jew will remain in the Gaza Strip"..."disengagement is the right direction"..."Lesson of World War II is that appeasement, concessions, and weakness are recipe for a Holocaust"

Yet with all these problems, I prefer this start-up to anywhere else.

The corporate niceties of other, more established corporations are not for me. They're missing many of the key elements, the feeling of home, the vibrant excitement of being part of the leading-edge team, the big payoff around the corner...and being part of history in the making.

You want a winning stock? This is it.

And there's no better way to invest, than to move here, since every day is payback day.

Eretz Yisrael. Living the Dream.

PS: Aren't you glad I changed the blog back to its regular template? :-)

Mars and Venus in the Kitchen

Mars and Venus in the Kitchen (or How the GRA Cut Tomatoes)

My 9th month old daughter is under the weather...and not sleeping. So, to let the Mrs. @ The Muqata get some much needed (and deserved) sleep, I'm currently downstairs at 1:55 AM holding my daughter and typing with one hand.

My daughter kept pointing at my laptop so I assumed she wanted to blog a bit. She typed: aheyf aewfkhdsf aweu uaewornsdg sdmfnbasdf.

However, that's not what this post is about, but rather something alot more serious.

Its about the trials and tribulations in the kitchen, the constant tension between the genders...its...Mars and Venus in the Kitchen.

And...I didn't write it. Go over to StepIma's blog and read it there...it's classic!

Chag Sameach -- Happy Yom HaAtzmaut!

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Gotta Dress up in Blue and White for the Chag.

Happy Yom Haatzmaut!

Maybe I'll have time to blog later...

Eretz Yisrael. Living the Dream.